


Do-Over

by bearbaitbrook



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Betty Cooper Needs a Hug, Dancing, Episode: s03e20 Chapter Fifty-Five: Prom Night, F/M, Jughead Jones Loves Betty Cooper, Song Lyrics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:56:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29815665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bearbaitbrook/pseuds/bearbaitbrook
Summary: After the prom-night events brought on by the Black Hood, Jughead gives Betty a do-over junior prom.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Kudos: 9





	Do-Over

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! Here's a cute little something-something I thought of in the shower today (shower thoughts are the literal best, and I need one of those water-proof notepad things to keep in there to preserve my best thinking). I was listening to "Dance Hall" by Danielle Bradberry, and voila, this fic was born. I'm normally not a big country fan, but this song speaks to me. All song lyrics belong to this song, and all characters belong to Riverdale. Enjoy!

_ This week was hard, it's getting dark; The weeds are hot in my front yard; But it's Friday night and I don't really care; The moon is out, the crickets loud; A train went by, but it's gone now; So up and down the street, I sit and stare; You could say there's not much here for us; Nothing but a pile of dirt and dust _

***

"Jug, where are we going?" 

"That's a surprise. You'll find out when we get there."

"When will that be?"

"We're almost there. Be patient, Betts."

"Well, how am I supposed to know that? I'm blindfolded, Jug."

"It's all part of the surprise, baby."

"Jughead, I honestly don't think I can handle a surprise tonight. I've had enough surprises of a lifetime just this week."

"That's because they've all been bad surprises, Betts. This is a good surprise, I promise. Now hush!"

Eyes blindfolded by one of Jughead's seldom worn ties (something she hoped would be put to use in another way later on, preferably with less clothing), she did as she was asked, blindly following the gentle, guiding hands of the person she trusted above all others. The night air was chilly, a gentle breeze whipping over her shoulders, but she was warm out in the middle of who-knows-where, just her, and Jughead, and the moon and stars above them.

To say that this week had been rough would be a gross understatement. First her father, the notorious Black Hood serial killer of Riverdale had been "killed" in a prison transfer bus accident that left Betty with a pit in the bottom of her stomach hinting that not everything was as it seemed. Then, there was the looming Junior Prom where, if everything went according to plan, she and Jughead would finally unmask the Gargoyle King, bringing an end to the insanity that was Riverdale once and for all. She should have listened to the pit in her stomach - in the back of her head, and her heart, she had known that things were too good to be true, and that everything was being tied into packages that were too neat for "The Town With Pep." 

And that pit in her stomach, that anxious feeling that prickled at the back of Betty's neck all week, despite Jughead and Veronica and Archie's assurances that she was safe, had been right. 

All she had wanted was one night to be a normal teenager. One night. She wanted one night to dance with Jughead in their high school gym, staring deeply into his eyes as they twirled beneath the strings of fairy lights she had painstakingly helped to hang in the rafters. She wanted one night to forget about who her father was, and where her mother was living, and why she and Jughead were even at this prom in the first place. 

But instead of that, she had received a mysterious letter, summoning her to "the place where it all began," alone. Rather than a public unmasking of the menace who had been leading the cult-like hoard of Griffons and Gargoyle playing teens, Betty had snuck off, alone, to the bathroom down the hall from the Blue and Gold. And instead of returning to the gym to dance the night away in the arms of her soulmate, she had found all of the doors leading back to safety chained shut. 

And then she had heard it. It was a sound she knew would haunt her dreams for the rest of her life. And when she had looked up, she knew that her chances of having a normal prom night had just vanished into thin air. 

Her father had tried to kill her. For the second time.

She didn't remember much after that. She remembered tearing through the hallways, her lungs screaming for air. She remembered trembling in the darkness of the closet as her father - no, the Black Hood - tried to push it open, inch by inch. Most of all, she remembers the knock on the door and hearing a voice - Jughead's voice - calling out to her, offering her shelter from the storm. 

He didn't want her to go back to Veronica's that night - or any other night for that matter, at least not until all of this was done and the Black Hood was safely behind bars. She still felt a bit weird about living with him and his family, in her old house - in her old bedroom - but he had pulled her tightly into his arms, holding her as if afraid she would disappear at any minute, and then pulled away, his heart on his sleeve, begging "Please, Betts, stay here and let me and my dad protect you. Please, let me be here for you. Please, stay here so that I know you're safe."

It was hard to argue when he looked at her like that and whispered promises that she was safe with him, and that one day, in the not too distant future, he would take her away from this wicked little town, away from drug dealing moms and serial killer dads.

Betty tripped over a tree root, startling herself from her thoughts, and felt Jughead's hands steady her. She was fairly certain that they were in Fox Forrest, although it was hard to tell for sure, because Jughead had driven them around for a while, despite her blindfold, trying to throw her off the trail.

"Ok, Betts, stay right here for a minute," Jughead said, leaning over to kiss her cheek softly. "I'll be back in just a second." He guided her down onto a log, and then left, the sound of his footsteps getting further and further away. 

True to his word, he was back momentarily. "Do I get to take the blindfold off yet?" Betty asked as he once again led her forward.

"Almost." She could hear the smirk in his voice.

He led her a few hundred yards away and then stopped, helping her step over a rise in the ground, and then her feet and her hands met hard metal. 

"Jug, are we at the bunker?" It had to be the bunker - Dilton Doiley's bunker, the one that they'd commandeered as their home away from home over this horrendous year. "Why are we at the bunker?"

"Just wait and see, Nancy Drew!" he teased. "Watch your step - be careful going down. Stop when you get to the bottom."

He went down first, and then she followed, his hands never leaving her waist, in his ever present quest to keep her safe. Her feet hit solid ground and he slid his body behind her, arms wrapping tightly around her waist. 

"Ready?" he asked softly in her ear, and she shivered, nodding.

***

_ But, baby; We could string the stars over these corn stalks; We could turn your truck into an old jukebox; Just take my hand and baby, we could fall; Let's turn this open field into an old dance hall _

***

The blindfold fell from her eyes, and Betty gasped. It was their bunker - the plain, old doomsday bunker that Dilton Doiley had installed deep underground - only fairy lights had been pain-stakingly hung from the ceiling, and candles flickered on the table, next to a bouquet of flowers.

It took her breath away, and a tear trickled down her face. She could feel Jughead intently watching her reaction, and she turned to him.

"Like it?" he asked her uncertainty clouding his eyes.

"Like it? Juggy, I love it," she responded. "And I love you! Thank you." She leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "What brought this on?"

"I never got to dance with my girlfriend at prom," he said simply. "I know that prom really isn't my thing, but I want a do-over. No interruptions this time."

"There's no music, Jug."

He pulled his phone out of his pocket in response and set it on the table after tapping the screen a few times. The bunker was filled with a soft, gentle melody, and Jughead extended his hand to her.

"Shall we dance, milady?"

"Lead on, Hellcaster."

The music picked up in tempo, and Jughead, in a fit of untroubled glee, spun her around, both of them laughing like the light-hearted teenagers they should be.

Betty knew that outside, life went on in Riverdale. The Black Hood was still on the loose, and Griffins and Gargoyles was still being played. But there, in their bunker, swaying softly to the music in the warmth of his arms, she could forget about it all, at least until the morning. 

"Thanks for the do-over, Jug," she whispered into his chest.

"Anytime, Betts."

***

_ Come on baby, just spin me around; When the sun comes out, we'll head back into town; We could string the stars over these corn stalks; We could turn your truck into an old jukebox; Just take my hand and baby, we could fall; Let's turn this open field into an old dance hall; We'll turn this open field into our own dance hall _

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact about my prom: I had driven three hours across the state that same day to participate in a music competition before-hand, had been asked to prom by a guy who had asked over half of the school in search of a date literally with t-minus 12 hours until the dance (needless to say, I went with friends instead), got hamburgers at a joint pretty similar to Pops for dinner, and then afterwards we went to iHop and got pancakes from a waiter whose nametag said "The Chad" at 2:30 in the morning. So that was fun. Hope you all enjoyed! I'd love to hear constructive feedback in the form of comments and/or kudos!


End file.
